Why Alejandro Villanueva may be most important free agent for Steelers

The Steelers will be hard-pressed to re-sign all of our pending free agents but one in particular needs to return in 2021. 

With free agency a just couple of weeks away, the Steelers will be hard-pressed to re-sign most of our pending free agents as we will up against the salary cap (like we typically are this time of the year).  As is the norm for Pittsburgh, we will restructure contracts, convert salaries into signing bonuses and hopefully be in a position where we will be able to re-sign Alejandro Villanueva, who has started 90 out of 96 games in which he has played.

Frankly, that is incredible considering Villanueva was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent who was released by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014.  The Steelers signed Villanueva to the practice squad shortly after his release and the rest, as they say, is history. I certainly hope his Steelers career is not, however.

To say that one player is the most important pending free agent to re-sign may sound like a bold statement, but consider this:  Ben Roethlisberger, our future Hall of Fame and two-time Super Bowl-winning QB, has made his intentions known that he wants to play in 2021. Do we really want to trot out an unfamiliar face at the most important position on the offensive line?

While we may have in-house replacements for Villanueva, I would bet ‘dollars to doughnuts’ that Big Ben would much prefer to have someone he knows and trusts protecting his blind side rather than having to potentially worry about either someone who is untested at that position or someone who is new to the Steelers.

The Steelers will have several difficult decisions to make in free agency, but re-signing ‘Big Al’ should not be one of them

As I stated in a previous article, the Steelers will be faced with some difficult decisions as we navigate the perilous waters of free agency.  Honestly, I think we should try to re-sign every one of our pending free agents, but we know that is not a realistic expectation.

Some players will just prove to be too rich for our blood, while some players will be unwilling to take a ‘hometown discount’ to re-sign with us. Still, others will simply get an offer from another team that they can’t refuse.  That’s how it goes every year.

The fact that Villanueva plays the most important position on the offensive line is frankly a ‘catch 22’ for us.  We need a reliable left tackle to protect Roethlisberger, but other teams also need a reliable left tackle to protect their QBs, and A.V. fits the bill.  So what do the Steelers do about this quandary?

If Ben does in fact come back for the 2021 season and considering that Maurkice Pouncey – starting center for the past 11 seasons and someone who, by all accounts, was near and dear to Roethlisberger recently retired – I think the Steelers need to do everything we can to assure a smooth transition for not only Big Ben but for the entire offensive line.

We all know how much Ben Roethlisberger respects and likes his offensive line, so my vote is we do what we can to maintain continuity.  Again, there may be a team that offers Villanueva a contract that he simply can’t refuse, but I think it’s incumbent on the Steelers to convince him that Pittsburgh is where he needs to be.